28 Nisan 2011 Perşembe

Jay Penske looking to add Variety to his media empire

EXCLUSIVE SCOOP: Flash has learned that Jay Penske, heir to the Detroit car-racing clan, is mulling a bid to buy Variety from the Amsterdam-based Reed Elsevier company:

Penske, 30, already has an Internet media conglomerate with Movieline, HollywoodLife (run by former Us Weekly editrix Bonnie Fuller) and Deadline, the showbiz website run by reclusive blogger Nikki Finke. He launched the business with a $35 million investment from private equity honcho Steve Rattner‘s Quadrangle Partners.

“He is working on a deal, and the numbers seem consistent based on online and print and profits,” one insider told Flash yesterday. But Variety Group president Neil Stiles said, “Nonsense, and you can quote me.”